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238 Central Street
Town House Hudson Center
In 1857 Hudson contracted with William Anderson of Windham to erect this Town House on the site of the Old North Meeting House in Hudson Center. The North Meeting House was deeded to the town by the Baptist Society after The Baptist Church was completed in 1841. Town meetings were held here until the mid 1930’s when there was a desire among the town people to hold meetings at the bridge area. Wattannick Grange held their meetings here from its organization. In 1963 the town authorized the sale of the building to Wattannick Grange. To the right of the Town House is Harvey Lewis’ Coal Grain and Grocery; on the left and rear is the B&M Railroad Depot. Today, now that Hudson and Wattannick Granges have merged, this building is known as Wattannick Hall the home of Hudson Grange No 11. Photo from the Historical Society collection.
Benjamin Dean House — A House Twice Moved
This house was built by Abraham Page about 1747 on Bush Hill Road on part of the old Haselton Farm. Between 1747 and about 1838 this house was likely occupied by Abraham Page, Jr and early members of the Haselton family whom he helped to raise. In 1838 the owner, Rev. Benjamin Dean, moved and remodeled the house to a location on Hamblet Avenue just north of the Eli Hamblet house and facing the east side of the Hudson Center Common. The second floor contained a large room with an arched ceiling, referred to as “Dean’s Hall”. This room was used as a school and a place for public gatherings. Rev. Dean occupied the home until about 1850. The home had various owners until being purchased by the family of Claudia and Richard Boucher. In the early 1960’s when the State of New Hampshire planned out the new route 111 through Hudson Center, this house was simply ‘in the way’. The Boucher family sold the property to the state and later re-purchased the house and had it moved to its present (and third) location on Windham Road. This 1942 photo from the Historical Society Collection shows the house at its second location on Hamblet Avenue.
Railroad Station at Hudson Center 1896
In this 1896 photo, we are looking east from the Greeley Street crossing at the Hudson Center Station (left) and the rear of the Town Hall (now Wattannick Hall) on the right. From this point the tracks the headed towards the crossing at Windham Road, on to the crossing at Clement Road and then to West Windham. A Post Office was established in this station in 1876 and Eli Hamblet was the Postmaster; a position he held until his death in 1896. It was at this station that animals and patrons arrived to go to Benson’s. Animals were shipped here and some were walked along the road to the farm. The Jungle Train from Boston brought people on excursions. There was a freight house (center right) and siding for handling goods. At the height of railroad traffic there were as many as 13 passenger trains plus freight activity each day on this line. Considering a single track line, this made for a very busy and dangerous section of the line. The railroad station was later made into a dwelling, but when it was no longer in use it was moved to Benson Park and can still be seen there. Photograph from the Historical Society Collection.
Steam railroad crossing at Greeley Street in 1896
The steam railroad crossed the Merrimack River into Hudson just south of what is now Veterans Memorial Bridge as you cross from Nashua into Hudson. It then made a path easterly and slightly north through Hudson. The tracks crossed Lowell Road at Central Street and then on to Hudson Center and West Windham. The one railroad station in town was at Hudson Center just off Greeley Street and behind the Town Hall (now Wattannick Hall). In this 1896 photo we are standing on the tracks near the station looking west along the tracks and the Greeley Street crossing. The corner of the station house can just be seen in the right of the photo. Greeley Street is a narrow dirt road and the area on the opposite side of Greeley appears as a wooded area or field. Today there are few reminders of the railroad bed. The area on the left is now the parking lot of the Baptist Church and the area on the right is the Greeley Street playground. Photo from the Society collection and courtesy of Len Lathrop. (Published in HLN October 24, 2014.)
Hudson Center School circa 1909
After the D.O. Smith School on Windham Road was destroyed by fire, the school district voted to build a new school of similar size. The sum of $900 plus the amount received from insurance was allocated for this purpose. A conscious decision was made to not re-build on the Windham Road location. The Hudson Center School, a two room house, was built on the east side of Pelham Road (now Kimball Hill Road) just a short distance from Hudson Center. This school remained in use until 1956 when it was closed. The students were combined with the classes at Webster School. Of the two teachers: Florence Parker became a reading supervisor and Mrs. Marguerite Gilman taught a second grade. This building remains today and is privately owned. Photo from Historical Society Collection. (Published in HLN September 26, 2014.)
D.O. Smith School built 1896
Smith School – Last week we shared that Hudson erected two new school houses in 1896. The second house was the D.O. Smith School in Hudson Center on what is now Windham Road. The building committee was authorized to spend up to $3,000 to build and equip the Smith School; which was named in honor of Dr. David O. Smith. In his younger years David O. was a successful teacher, he then studied medicine and became a very skillful physician. After becoming a doctor he retained his interest in the schools of this town, doing more for our schools than any other person during his long lifetime. This school house was completely destroyed by fire and was replaced by the Hudson Center School on Kimball Hill Road in 1909. The Smith School was located on the north side of the road at or near the present address of 42 to 44 Windham Road. This picture is from an old sepia photograph from the Historical Society collection. (Published in HLN September 19, 2014.)
Hudson Center and Hambletts Garage our first ALA Station
Eli Hamblet House
Born in 1810 to Tamar and Thomas Hamblet, Eli lived most, if not all, of his adult life in Hudson Center. Eliâs home and farm home was located on Hamblet Avenue facing the Hudson Center Common on the east side. This house was previously owned by John Foster who operated a grocery store there for about 19 years. Eli married Rebecca Butler of Pelham in 1844. Their daughters Rebecca Souvina and Arvilla continued to reside in the house after Eliâs death in 1896. In addition to farming, Eli served his town in many ways; town clerk, selectman, overseer of the poor, and representative to the general court. He was one of the organizers of the Hudson Center Library and he acted as the librarian when this small library was housed in his home. He was a member and Deacon of the Baptist Church. In 1876, when the Hudson Center Post Office was established at the Railroad Station behind the Town Hall, he was appointed postmaster. He held this office until his death in 1896. Eliâs entire family, including his parents, are buried in Westview Cemetery. This house was the home of Robert Thompson, Sr and his family for many years. After being vacant for an extended time it was demolished a few years ago.
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